Chapter V of the Annual Intellectual Property Report 2017-18 discloses the 59th Annual Report on the activities performed by the Trademark Registry. The role of the Trademark Registry was further expanded by international filings after India’s accession to the Madrid Protocol. The Trademark Rules, 2002 were completely revised and replaced by the Trademark Rules, 2017 which came into force on March 6, 2017.
The number of applications filed for registration of trademarks in 2017-18 has slightly declined but the number of trademarks registered annually has increased. Here are the trends of trademark applications filed in the past 5 years:
| Year | Indian Applicants | Foreign Applicants | Total |
| 2013-14 | 1,84,140 | 15,865 | 2,00,005 |
| 2014-15 | 2,02,654 | 7,847 | 2,10,501 |
| 2015-16 | 2,67,390 | 15,670 | 2,83,060 |
| 2016-17 | 2,66,730 | 11,440 | 2,78,170 |
| 2017-18 | 2,47,734 | 25,307 | 2,72,974 |
On the contrary, the number of trademark registered in 2017-18 rose to 300913 as compared to 250070 in the preceding year. The factors that contributed to the increase in the number of trademarks registered in 2017-18 when compared to previous years are as follows:
- The amendments to the Trademark Rules, 2002 reduced number of forms from 74 to 8 and enable the filing of a single application form for all kinds of trademark applications.
- To empower star-ups in India, a concession of 50% in trademark fees has been introduced through the trademark amendment rules.
- The provision for filing of extensions for submission of evidences and affidavits has also been introduced to speed up the registration procedure.
- 10% concession fees has been provided through the Trademark (Amendment) Rules, 2017, in line with designs and patents.
- Indian Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as IPO) website has been redesigned to facilitate IP data on a real-time basis for trademarks.
Application filed by Foreign Applicants:
The top four nations with the highest number of foreign applications remained the same as in the previous year (1. USA, 2. China, 3. UK, 4. Japan) but Republic of Korea has been replaced by United Arab Emirates for the fifth spot in 2017-18. The number of applications filed by foreign applicants in the year 2017-18 was 25307. Given below is the nation-wise comparison between the trends from 2017-18 and 2016-17:
| Country | Number of Applications filed in 2016-17 | Number of Applications filed in 2017-18 |
| United States of America | 3,792 | 3,779 |
| China | 1,360 | 1,793 |
| United Kingdom | 761 | 613 |
| Japan | 549 | 608 |
| United Arad Emirates | 244 | 368 |
| Germany | 372 | 345 |
| Singapore | 336 | 341 |
| Hong Kong | 257 | 337 |
| Republic of Korea | 476 | 313 |
| Taiwan, Province of China | 221 | 278 |
| Switzerland | 314 | 273 |
| Canada | 164 | 255 |
| British Virgin Islands | 146 | 232 |
| Italy | 153 | 201 |
| Cayman Islands | 218 | 188 |
| France | 268 | 171 |
| Thailand | 123 | 136 |
| Australia | 127 | 134 |
| Netherlands | 149 | 129 |
| Malaysia | – | 108 |
| Through Madrid System | – | 13,475 |
| Total | 11,440 | 25,307 |
The reasons for the increase in the number of trademarks filed in the year 2017-18 are[1]:
- International Programmes were organized for Asia Pacific and BRICS countries.
- The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (hereinafter referred to as ‘CGPDTM’) held a bilateral meeting the Japan Patent office Commissioner.
- Certain Members of the Chinese Intellectual Property Office visited India.
- A MoU was signed by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office.
- A meeting was held between the CGPDTM and the European Patent Office to assess bilateral activities for co-operation.
[1]http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/709458/Trademark/A+Brief+Analysis+Of+The+Annual+Report+201617+Of+The+Indian+Intellectual+Property+Office